Chapter 7: The I'm-Sorry-but-my-family's-been-here-so-I've-been-useless blog entry

Starting point: my family just left about five hours ago and I already miss them like crazy. This might be bad, if I can't make it two months without my family how will I survive in the real world? That is a hard question to be pondered later so I will put it in the difficult questions box which already contains questions like, "What am I going to do with the rest of my life?" and "What am I doing here?" and "What is my purpose in life?" along with easier ones like "What is the meaning of life?" But I plan on making it the next two months and two weeks. Or 89 days. Or 2136 hours. Not that I'm counting. Let's clear something up right now, I don't hate it here,  I do hate some parts of it (I would mention those but this is a bog that is publicly posted and can be read by just about anyone. And though my roommates do not read this because they couldn't care less, let's not take any chances), but I love my job, I love interacting with guests while I'm working (except the people who read "UMass Boston" and begin asking me about my "cah." Seriously, what is a "cah"?), I hate the buses that transport us, I hate some of the people who work here, I hate being away from familiarity, and when I go as a guest I constantly run into the rudest guests and Cast Members (guys? can I have a second of happiness? In the Happiest Place On Earth there should be a tiny bit to spare for me). 
      Let's leave that thought behind and I'll fill you in on everything from the 13th to here. The morning of the 13th I moved into my new apartment (recap they relocated us). Our apartment is now 302 instead of 1302. Our apartment is nicer but it is right next to the bus stop: good when you're running late, but bad because of the abundance of very loud Spanish arguments at 3 am. Sometimes I want to stick my head out and butt into their conversation, like "Oh you thought this was a private conversation? My roommates and I did not think so."
     On the 22nd my family came to see me. They stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort. I went to meet them at 10 o'clock. I was supposed to take an earlier bus but that one just didn't show up. I got there about ten minutes before they arrived so I sat there and waited. I received a text from my mum saying they were at Caribbean Beach (on the Magical Express bus) and that the bus had almost reached the check in where I was sitting.  So I sat there eagerly anticipating the appearance of the Magical Express bus which is a distinctive light blue bus with round windows. Instead up pulls a big yellow Mears bus. Never does the thought cross my mind that this could be the Magical Express bus. Instead my first thought was basically "This freaking bus needs to move so the Magical Express containing my family can park there." But then suspicion sparked as a group of waving people surged towards me and I was tackled by a ginger hug monster who discarded all her technological devices on the ground for love of me.  I was then enveloped in family love and that was pretty nice, the part where they still missed me and were happy to see me. They checked in and I gave them all their presents (kind of iffy on those). We broke in the hotel's pool and enjoyed the beaches and their hammocks (not as much fun as they look).  We headed over to Downtown Disney for a bit and it poured. I was convinced it was hurricane season, but apparently that's in August to November. Whoops.
      The second day we went to Animal Kingdom. Did all the major things within probably about two-three hours so after lunch we decided to take advantage of the new addition to our team: Park Hopper. A beautiful, beautiful addition which was thoroughly abused. From Animal Kingdom we went over to Magic Kingdom and ended the day there. By this time everyone was pretty tired of my over touchy-feely-ness and were keeping me at an arms distance, except every once in a while I would get a sympathy hand hold or hug with the phrase "Well I haven't seen you in a month and I'm not going to see you again for two more."  Jenni quickly became immune to that one, replying with phrases such as, "I didn't miss you that much."
        Friday we went to Epcot, I sprinted to Soarin! and got us Fastpasses. Yes sprinted, and thank God because that was 9:30 in the morning and the Fastpasses were for 2:40-3:40. I obviously really like Epcot, I'm really glad to work there because it's awesome and the people are amazing. To my family: not so much. Thankfully I packed in a full day even though there were thoughts of leaving about halfway through. We even saw the fireworks show, despite the efforts of the people in front of us.  We also got some pictures for Makayla's school project which is on Canada. That made her super cranky. But I think that's most people's reaction to Canada. I'm just kidding. But seriously, I was proof-reading her report and Canada does not seem like fun.
        The rest of the time is a vague blur of happiness and park hopping. Saturday was Magic Kingdom/Hollywood Studios, Sunday was Hollywood Studios, Monday was Magic Kingdom. (Monday I also started my Exploring class which seems awesome and I'm really excited about. I actually skipped my class on Saturday morning because it was a huge hassle and I really wanted to spend the maximum amount of time with my family.)
        We also did a lot of new things which I'm proud of.  We did Kim Possible, Star Tours, and we sampled different countries sodas at the Fountainview. Don't try Beverly. Just don't do it.  Our major accomplishment was Tuesday (yesterday as of this moment). Tuesday was our park hopping to the extreme day. Every amazing ride, one day.  We started in Animal Kingdom at 9 in the morning, got Fastpasses for the Kilamanjaro Safari then did Expedition Everest twice and finished up with the Safari. On the Safari a bunch of giraffes ran past us so close that we could see the muscles bunching in their legs. They ran past us and then stopped on the right hand side so we drive by close enough to reach out and touch. I told Jenni, who was sitting basically right next to the giraffe that it would have made my life if he had licked her. Then we went on Epcot and walked on Soarin! (as much as you can walk on Soarin! it was 30 minutes rather than the 4 hours which I saw it be a few weeks ago). We then walked on Test Track and then did it again using earlier fetched Fastpasses. We grabbed some more drinks from the Fountainview (Jenni retried Beverly despite all of our protests) before grabbing the boat to Hollywood Studios. We grabbed Fastpasses for the Rockin' Roller Coaster before we went to our dinner reservations at the Sci-Fi diner. Definitely cutest place of the week food wise. We really shook it up with the places we ate this time too. Except Crystal Palace which is tried and true. We tried the Tusker House at Animal Kingdom (ehh), as well as Captain Jack's (bien), and Sommerfest at Epcot (ehh). We also ate at the Ohana at the Polynesian which gave us a front seat to the fireworks. After Sci-Fi we went to the Rockin' Roller Coaster and then left to finish up the night at Magic Kingdom. We got Makayla (and myself) some Sorcerers cards, which she thinks are the coolest things and she's going to end up keeping  in a scrapbook. We rarely played but the cards are wicked cool. (It's called Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom, look it up). We got to see the Magic the Memories and You show, and then we walked onto Buzz Lightyear, did that twice, then went on Space Mountain, the Speedway (I'm worse at that then I am at Mario Kart), Pooh Bear, and Snow White. We got in line for Snow White at exactly 8:58 and the park closed at 9. We then used the left over snacks from their Dining plan at the Sweeterie for their flight home. We left there just before 10 o'clock. A nice, full, successful day as far as the definition can say.
         Today was a relatively slow day. My family had to be out of the hotel room by 11 o'clock so packing was accomplished. The luggage was stored near the check out because they didn't to leave until 5:30 when they were being picked up by their Magical Express bus (Their flight wasn't until 8:30 though so that gave us a good amount of time). We then proceeded to Downtown Disney again. After a few hours of shopping there, everyone was pretty bored and it was about 88 degrees, so we headed back to the hotel.  There we lounged by the pool, the bathing suits had already been packed away sadly. Eventually we went inside so they could use their last set of quick service meals to get some sandwiches for the flight. We took a shuttle back to the main house where we collected our luggage and said good-bye. This was definitely not as long as I wanted it to be. I would have loved to be able to spend more time with my family and I tried to make every moment count. But I really liked getting to take advantage of being down here. It was really easy a lot of times to forget that I wasn't going home with them when the vacation ended.  We'll see, I'm gonna try and focus on the positive because this is definitely going to be hard for me, but for God's sake, this girl is complaining about living in Disney World!

Interlude

I forgot: here's the evil mother ducky and her chickadees. I will never see them again because my new apartment is not near their lake. Although actually she came to the bus stop the other day to visit me. Don't worry though, she used the crosswalk.

Chapter 6

     I've been working a lot lately. Most days I absolutely love my job but there were two days this week that were just plain awful. One I will name "V-Day" (like D-Day, not like valentines day). That day I will dismiss because I hope you're smart enough to figure out what the "v" stands for. Think about it.. Think about it.. There you go. Let's just say there was a lot of it. Not the most glamorous job exactly. Plus I am horrid with the radio. They all talk to me in code and I'm like, "Hey it's Jillian! What was that you just said? What? What?" It's like languages or math, my two worst subjects. The other day (out of the original two before the digression) it was pouring. Not a good day.
     Happier thoughts (come on don't you want to fly?), I started one of my classes Saturday. It's my creativity class and so far I really like it. My teacher's great ( he kind of makes me wonder what Ms. Drummey would be like if she taught one of these classes.) I have to begin keeping a creativity journal though. Each day I have to write about my creative thought of the day and how it's useful to society, most of my creative ideas start of with "I wonder what would happen if..." then the thought ends with oddity or disaster. Nothing useful. So that sounds like a failing project already. I did have a very violent storyline the other day for Bones (the tv show, the one with the beautiful David Boreanaz ) while throwing trash in the compactor, I really don't think Disney would approve.
      Yesterday (Sunday) I had off so I went to Epcot by myself, because everyone else was working. I was only there for a few hours and there were only a few moments of awkwardness (cause of the whole me being alone thing). I did all the things I wanted to do such as Kim Possible (the Norway mission), Imagination with Figment, and Captain EO (which I've never seen before and I find really cheesy, but I love Michael Jackson so it's okay). I also ate in Norway bakery, which was one of those awkward moments where everyone was very aware of how alone that I was. And the fact that I was eating two pastries by myself. Whatever. They can't understand that I see people eat these things day after day and I get wicked jealous. I got a cloudberry horn (ahhhhhhhhh-mazong) and chocolate mousse cake (eh not my favorite). On my way out I bought my dad a book on the art of Disney World for his birthday and a Dumbo pillow pet for my younger sister Jenni (see attached photo) (the Dumbo belongs to Jenni, the Duffy (in his pirate costume) is Makayla's, and the Goofy is mine). Today I woke up at 8.30 because it was time to move into our apartment. I was sort of upset because auditions were this morning and I actually wanted to go but we had to move today. So I moved all of my stuff over to our new apartment (same set up as the old one but wood floor and faux marble countertop). We'll see if my roommates can keep this clean for a second and a half. The answer is: a resounding no! I feel kind of bad saying things like that online because they could read it but I complain to their faces just the same. They're kinda messy people. I mean I'm not calling myself a saint but I'm tired of their crap all over the place.
      So this week I'm working a lot(ish). Then next Wednesday my family is coming!!!!! I can't wait!! I am yearning desperately for something familiar, speaking of, the Norwood cheerleaders were down here and I didn't see pom nor pom of those rascals. I hope you guys did good! I'll see you all a little later..Muah-hahaha!!!

Chapter 5: The Blog that refused to be written

I apologize, it's been a while. But there is a reason!! My computer is not working. Again. So I'm tapping this out on my iPod. (do you feel that love?) I had to write this though because I have so many fun stories to relate. There are some things I don't know if I'm allowed to say so I'm going to be safe. There are other things that I'd love to share from cranky guests to character interaction (Aladdin said hi to me.. Jasmine kind of snubbed me but I was changing trash cans so I'll take what I can get).
      Works been good I really like it so far. Everyone's really nice on the custodial staff, which makes being here and working here so much easier. I have been working streets so far. Lots of walking which equals lots of blisters. Mostly sweeping with trash runs and recycle runs thrown in. I personally believe that I am the slowest person to ever do a trash run. Disney World us a very clean place which means there's about a trashcan per twenty feet. Great for guests "hey throw your stuff here!" "or here!!!" "or HERE!!" "no me! Mememe!!!" bad for Jillians. Which reminds me, there are also stories I wish I could tell you about/ from my roomies, but I want to avoid a severe case of foot in mouth. But disclaimer aside; it's story time!!!
      Story #1 French boy. On my first day alone I was doing my very first trash run by myself in Mexico. I had already removed the trash bag and was putting in a new one. At this point I realized that there was a boy leaning on the trash can looking at me. He says, and I swear, "Trash, huh?" this kid was definitely cute in an adorable way but he was also younger than me by at least a year and he had an accent which I couldn't quite place so I decided it was French. My answer was a shaky "yes" which he took as an invitation to continue and at which point he asked me if he could take his picture with me. Confused I stammered out a "what?" forcing him to repeat his request, saying he had previously taken his picture with other cast members. Then I took my picture with him. I saw no real reason to object, although get this as a mental picture in your head: he took the picture My Space style, holding his iPhone out in front of us, leaned into me and put his hand on my back. Now picture me in my white uniform wearing blue gloves for my trash run and then don't forget that the trash can (and the liner which I still had at my feet) were our foreground. But I smiled as big and bright as any Disney princess and he thanked me and moved on with his life.
       Story 2: Fanatic! On my sixth day by myself I was doing a trash run (all the fun things happen to me on trash runs) over in the UK when a man came up to me and asked if he could put a small piece of trash into the bag I was pulling. No problem of course. At this point I realized he was wearing a Disney name tag. I didn't recognize him but he seemed very nice and I spoke to him for a moment before he moved on. I didn't pay too much attention to where he went to because a woman immediately came up to me and asked me how she could get to Morocco. I cheerfully pointed her in the right direction, wished her good night, and sent her on her way. I went back to my trash can thinking nothing of the interaction until the man from earlier came back. He handed me a slip of paper and smiled at me saying I was one of the few people he'd seen smile all day. The paper he explained was called a fanatic and it was a recognition of great service. On it it says that I displayed a positive image and energy and it talks about me assisting the woman finding her way to Morocco. It was something really special to me and it really brightened up my night.
       Oh and miniature story: the ugly ducks had pretty babies. Tiny fuzzy chicks running around. I wonder if they were super aggressive to keep the eggs safe.
      But overview, life's been fun. I like my job a lot and the people I work with are amazing. I have a lot of new friends down here including my new roommates. I've been to all four parks now, I've seen Alice in Wonderland and Winnie the Pooh and Donald Duck wearing a sombrero. I've found twenty bucks on the sidewalk and I have a questionable story about whether or not I met Chara (from the Bruins) and my reaction from his friends question, "Do you know Chara?" me: "Not personally." I have many other funny-ish tales but I am really tired and I just found out that we're getting kicked out of our apartment so I'm kinda cranky.... Sorry I was gonna make that a cliffhanger but my iPod won't let me. We just got a letter to our apartment saying that our entire building is being renovated and we are being moved to new apartments. Do you know how mad that made me? The answer is "very." The other girls aren't home yet so they don't know and I can't decide between wanting them to come home so I have someone to complain to but I also just wanna wallow in misery by myself for a bit. I already ate a whole carton of ice cream earlier in a happier mood so that's out of the question (I'm not sure the size of it, it wasn't a gallon but this wasn't some bite size package neither). That's got me upset but there's nothing I can really do. I'm gonna call in the morning to make a few requests. I want to remain on the ground floor in a quiet, clean, space. I'll already be inconvenienced enough. Back to happier things, Happy Birthday to my best friend, Heather Flaherty!!!! I miss you so much!! Enjoy turning twenty tomorrow, now we're a whole decade apart. I also miss my family and the beautiful staff of the Morrill Memorial Library! See you guys May 19th!!